§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the relative performance of each local authority in Merseyside for the purposes of determining the housing investment programme allocations for 1993 to 1994; and if he will publish the figures.
§ Mr. BaldryFigures for local authority housing investment programme allocations for 1993–94 were announced on 17 December by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning, at column 507; details are in the Libraries of the House. The primary criterion which underlay the discretionary element of these allocations was the efficiency and effectiveness of authorities in the use of resources to meet housing need. In reaching an assessment for these purposes of the authorities in Merseyside, we took into account all available information which was relevant, including authorities' housing strategies and HIP bids, and discussions in the course of the annual round of HIP meetings between authorities and officials in the Department's Merseyside task force.